A man shot and killed by an Alameda County sheriff's deputy in East Oakland didn't have a gun and was fleeing when he was shot in the head, an attorney for the dead man's family said Tuesday.

Jacorey Calhoun, 23, was shot by a deputy that works alongside a police dog, said attorney John Burris, who has been retained by the family to investigate the shooting. He said Calhoun was "unarmed and was running away" when he was shot.

"What was the imminent threat to himself or others that caused him to shoot?" Burris asked. Calhoun "was not seen with a weapon. He did run from the police, but running from the police itself is not the basis to shoot someone."

Authorities have declined to release details about the circumstances leading to the shooting.

The incident began about 4 a.m. Sunday when Oakland police tried to stop Calhoun in a silver 2001 Volvo near 55th and Fairfax avenues in East Oakland. The Volvo was connected to a home-invasion robbery July 12 on the 4700 block of MacArthur Boulevard, during which a resident was pistol-whipped, said Officer Johnna Watson, an Oakland police spokeswoman.

The suspect refused to stop and fled east on San Leandro Street before he ran from the car near 105th and Edes avenues and disappeared, police said. They requested assistance from a sheriff's K-9 deputy because fog prevented the police helicopter from flying overhead, Watson said.

About 5:50 a.m., the suspect was spotted moving in a yard. "Hey, somebody just jumped over west, to the west yard. Is that one of you guys?" an officer asked on the Oakland police radio.

Another officer replied, "Hold still. I think he's working his way - just hold the air. And a male black - he's actually fleeing."

At least seven gunshots could then be heard as the deputy opened fire. "Shots fired!" an officer reported.

The name of the deputy, an eight-year veteran who was not hurt, was withheld. The shooting is under investigation by police, sheriff's officials and the Alameda County district attorney's office.

Burris said that the Volvo is registered to Calhoun's girlfriend and that "she's unaware of any illegal use of her car."